Robopon (short for Robot Ponkottsu in Japanese) is a series of RPGs produced by Hudson Soft and Red Entertainment and brought to the U.S. by Atlus. Three games in total have been released; three distinct versions for the first, Sun, Star, and Moon (released on the GBC), while the second had Ring and Cross (released on the GBA). There was also one other single-version game, Robopon 64, for the N64.

The handheld games chronicle the adventures of a young boy named Cody, and his quest to become a Robopon master. Robopon, as the name implies, are robots, created by catching them in the wild with magnets, growing them from seeds, or "sparking" two batteries together; practically everyone has one, and uses them to participate in fighting competitions.

Sun, Star, and Moon follow Cody's quest to become Legend1 in the Robopon rankings of Porombo Island, while Ring and Cross detail his journeys in the country of Majiko and the tournament there. 64 follows expies of Cody and his rival Bisco who sail water-filled worlds in search of treasure and Robopon while contending with pirates.

Gameplay in the first game was similar to Pokémon, but with a robot theme—some status effects, for example, were Fog, Rust, and Crash. You had 4 Robopon in a party and sent them out one by one, using Software to attack and Parts as equipment. Combining software could get you more advanced, powerful moves. Obtaining Robopon was done by catching wild 'Pons with magnets, and evolution was an option if you collected enough Energyballs after battles.

In the second game, gameplay was streamlined and less obviously Pokemon-inspired. Your party was out all at once, Robopon had oil types that affected who they could multiheal or multiattack in battle, evolution was an option via leveling, and Robopon were no longer caught—you sparked them by combining two batteries. An overall faster game made for a better-received experience, though both games are well-regarded by fans.

Artificial Human: The three Zero cyborgs of Ring and Cross versions, created specifically to hunt down Cody, scrap his Robopon, and kill him.

Avenging the Villain: Subverted in Robopon 2. Dr. Zeke is the previously unseen brother of Dr. Zero, from the first game. Rather than vowing to avenge his death, he goes back in time to save Zero so they can both destroy Cody.

Awesome, yet Impractical: The * (Star) software sort of falls into this. On one hand, the attacks they create can do obscene amounts of damage. On the other, they require a team of Robopon that mutually like each other, eat anywhere from a third to a half of a Robopon's Energy Points, and do pathetic damage if the enemy has appropriate stats.

Bag of Spilling: In the second game; somehow, Cody leaves Porombo Island for the tournament without carrying any of his Robopon (Bisco hastily shoving him aboard didn't help), and is shipwrecked in Majiko's Baba Village before he can turn back for them.

Baleful Polymorph: Princess Darcy is imprisoned in a mirror, and her sprite 'becomes' the mirror until she's rescued—though oddly, there are no mirror-based Robopon.

Big "NO!": Cody does this in the second game after leaving all of his Robopon at home.

Prince Tail does it in the first game after Dr. Zero defeats him, taking over the kingdom.

Blessed with Suck: Mushroom effects in the second game basically fall under this or occasionally Cursed with Awesome. There are three different mushroom colors, and each one has a specific set of spirits that can be summoned from it. Since the spirits are chosen at random, one may get the spirit that makes stuff cheaper at shops... or the spirit that throws stuff out of your inventory for no reason.Save Scumming is a must if you don't like letting the Random Number God screw you over.

Bonus Boss: Several in the second game, including Rena's restored-to-youth mother, the younger version of Nick D., the Robopon in Delica Castle's basement, and the W-King.

In the original, you can rematch the first six Legends in Zero Tower post-credits.

Boss in Mook Clothing: Near the end of the second game, the Marvel Lab where Dr. Don and his assistant Sam take refuge contains a special group of Robopon in a certain room that appear at random. Defeating them may get you a medal that can be used at Play-Land to play extra minigames. The main problem is that the group is highly leveled and will wipe the floor with you the first time you run across them unless you come prepared. There is a Dragon Robopon in the past version of Delica Castle that is the same type of battle.

Breaking the Fourth Wall: In the second game, you can find a Sunny in Gust Prison and store/retrieve robots. When asked about how it got in prison, it simply says "Who cares!? It's just a game!"

Broken Pedestal: Prince Tail's father had a shady past with Dr. Zero, and won the Legend1 title by nearly killing the doctor after Zero defeated him. Tail has a Heroic B.S.O.D. when Zero tells him the truth.

Game:And so, the Pandora's Box that is the Battleship has been opened...Metaphors aside, will you press the red button?

Player:No.

Game:Umm...you should really think about pressing the button soon.

Cap: Robopon 2 does this in an interesting way. Some Robopon can be enhanced, but when they are, their level drops by half. Also, no matter what their evolutionary stage, they eventually reach a point where their levels increase but their stats do not. The game compensates by making the stats a bit higher than what the Robopon had at that level when it first reached it (i.e., a level 9 Sun-02 has higher stats than a level 9 Sunny), and enhanced Robopon learn more moves than their previous forms.

Combination Attack: Combining software can get you more powerful attacks depending on what kind it is. Mixing Fire and Water will get you a Steam attack, which has a chance of causing a Fever.

Contemplate Our Navels: Dr. Zero does this in the second game after you beat him, hilariously listing off every positive virtue in the book as he wonders how Cody was able to defeat him. Then he declares that it doesn't mean anything when you have money and power.

Blaze, the first of Zero's cyborgs, does this, lampshading whether robots have sentience and saying he doesn't want to find out by dying.

Controllable Helplessness: In the second game, on the day Cody is to be executed, all you can do is wait, walking around your cell until the time machine arrives.

In the first game, you can find a LostCode in the first town, which acts as a free evolution. You can also find a hidden Shortcut in Cody's house, which acts as a free level up, and a hidden treasure chest that gives a chance of valuable items. Beating Bisco's thugs also gives a chance of dropping U-Magnets.

Pegs in the first game; it is practically one robot that most players will have in their party due to its reliability. It became even better in the sequel with an evolution, PegSS... but sadly wasn't available til near the end of the game due to its rare sparking combination.

Replacing Pegs in the Sequel is Hexbot (Cross), which you can immediately spark after getting all of the batteries from the Cave, including the hidden one. It can use instant death software and has decent growth compared to other Robopon you can spark early on in the game.

Gigapon and its evolutions fill this role in Ring, and is useful even in the endgame.

Disproportionate Retribution: In the second game, Cody accidentally helps flood Delica Kingdom with a fishing rod. The punishment? Death by hanging. If not for a conveniently-placed time machine, the game would end there.

Easily Forgiven: Any rank holder, no matter how heinous, is forgiven once defeated. This is especially egregious with Mr. Wild, Kamat, and Circe.

Enemy Scan: Comes default with the battle system in Robopon 2, with the added bonus of not taking up a turn and telling you what the oil type of the scanned Robopon is. If you're packing the right kind of software and have it equipped on the right Robopon, you'll be able to tell how many enemies you can fry at once with one move.

Fetch Quest: Talking to Rena of the Elite 8 will start a trading quest with the other Elite 8 members; completing it gets you one of the game's Olympus Mons, Golden Sunny/Silver C-Cell. Thankfully, you don't have to fight them for it.

Searching for the wrench in the Cools Town well.

Foreshadowing: In Tail Castle, an NPC mentions that long ago, Prince Tail's father defeated an evil doctor to earn his Legend1 title—but adds that he remembers the doc winning the fight and disappearing. It turns out the latter is true.

Fragile Speedster: Most Move-type Robopon lean towards this; they're really fast, but have really low defense and can be brought down in one hit by the right skills. Some can compensate for this by randomly becoming afterimages when you hit them, others reduce the damage that they take occasionally.

Fusion Dance: The three Zero cyborgs in Robopon 2 do this to attack Cody one more time as he leaves the Pond Garden, creating the multi-faced abomination called Insector.

Gag Boobs: A couple girl Robopon have these, such as Uggy, Chubba, and Comic Bon Bon Moon and 2's Razor.

Game Over: Averted in the first game; like Pokémon, losing your Robopon sends you back to town.

Played straight in the second game.

Genius Loci: Volco, a living island Robopon full of treasure. Finding it is the goal of Robopon 64.

Getting Crap Past the Radar: Cody happens to walk in on Ringmaster Brutal and his Lion Tamer in the middle of what appears to be a BDSM session.

Girliness Upgrade: Several Robopon became more feminine and cute in Comic Bon Bon Moon, and in 2.

Glass Cannon: A couple Move-types, the Gidyup/Pegs/PegSS line in particular.

Gonk: Quite a few Robopons' evolutions, particularly in the first game—Uggy is one example. Even more jarring if they evolved from something cute.

Golden Snitch: Dr. Zero's Legend0 ranking in the second game, which, in his words, "transcends all ranking systems." He uses it to instantly rise to the top of the ranking and thus spend the rest of his time constructively.

Goldfish Poop Gang: Deconstructed in the second game, where the rival is an impoverished orphanage owner who challenges you to win money "for the children!" and has an absolutely pathetic team that always has at least one Gear or Bulbot.

The first game has the Brownie sidequest, regarding where/when to move the rocks around.

In the second game, discovering the battery combinations for some Robopon may necessitate a guide, either because you miss the person that tells you what batteries you need, or the Robopon is not available via sparking and has to be obtained some other way, like giving random and unrevealed passwords to Jasper the dog. What makes this really bad is that some of his passwords are one character long despite there being 5 spaces.

The Pharo Ruins. To save a lot of mindless wandering, you can walk through certain walls, including in the leftmost ruin in the past. Moreover, specific switches need to be hit in the order of center, east, west, or nothing will happen. Aside from Maskman using the word 'correctly' this isn't even hinted at.

Figuring out how to play the Playland minigames in Robopon 2.

When you get the running time machine in the second game, it can make things more confusing if you're not sure what time era to be in.

Heel–Face Turn: While not exactly a villain, Bisco saves you from Dr. Zero's collapsing tower at the end of the first game.

Heroic B.S.O.D.: Prince Tail has one after he loses to both Dr. Zero and Cody, and Princess Darcy is trapped in a mirror as a result.

Hijacked By Dr. Zero: Prince Tail is known to be the Legend1 and anticipates fighting Cody at the end, but once you hit Legend3 status, Dr. Zero comes in and defeats the prince, bumping him to Legend2 and making Zero the final boss.

Jackass Genie: In the first game, Dr. Don's attempts to ask Mr. Brownie for a rocket end in the fairy either taking him literally or doing something off-the-wall for the fun of it.

Jerkass: Bisco. He insults Cody and his family personally, calls his Robopon junk, threatens to beat him up, and beats you to the Legend7 title. Becomes even worse in the second game, where he shoves Cody onboard SubRio before he can retrieve his Robopon, makes fun of him for it, and starts a years-long feud between two kingdoms. That last act doesn't go unpunished.

Joke Character: Bulbots and Gears. They've got crappy stats and absolutely no ability to learn skills via software (due to their Boot-type nature) or natural training. They evolve into each other at Level 99 and you could theoretically max out their stats this way, but doing so would take far too long.

Kick the Dog: Dr. Zero traps Princess Darcy in a mirror because Prince Tail lost to him and to Cody.

Zero installed kill switches in his cyborgs to destroy them if they lose. They're sentient creations.

Kleptomaniac Hero: This is encouraged. Going into others' houses and taking their things is a law of Porombo Island called "What's Mine is Yours". Kidnapping is still illegal, so no taking others' Robopon.

Lethal Joke Character: In the first game, your reward for maxing your company: Teabot. Grandpa Hogle bought it from the shopping network, and its data asserts that it's "useless." It comes equipped with an equipment that can scrap Robopon with its basic attack and other incredibly powerful moves.

Loophole Abuse: Challenging a Rank-Holder on Majiko requires an X-stone with that person's number on it. The Rank-holders are well aware that if they themselves get ahold of the stone, they could keep their title forever.

Mini-Game: The first game had a couple, some of which were really fun. When you go to fight Kamat, these games become mandatory, as each faction of his/her army specializes in one of the various games.

Missing Mom: Cody's mom leaves to go to the market at the start of the game and isn't seen again until the ending. Lisa also has no mother, through her father is around.

Money for Nothing: Averted in both games; there's lots to spend money on, and increasing equipment prices mean you generally need some cash on hand.

Money Sink: Expanding the floors of your company in the first game, and Hoffman Tower in the second game.

Money Spider: Most of the money you get from battles only comes from fighting against Robopon trainers; wild 'pon don't hold cash. But in the early stage of the first game, there's a little girl with a level 5 Meddy who will rematch you as often as you like, and happily dole out 100G or so every time you beat her. After you beat the first Legend, you'll also gain access to Battle Genesis 5, which you can play over and over again for 100G a win. In the second, if you're lucky, you'll run across a user in a random encounter, sometimes.

Motive Decay: In the first game, Dr. Zero wants revenge on Prince Tail and the royal family. In the second, he just wants to kill Cody, though it may be justified since he got to carry out his revenge in the first game by exposing the King as a fraud and utterly breaking the Prince.

Mystery Meat: The food served at Gust Prison is filled with so many germs you can actually taste them.

Near Villain Victory: By the end of the first game, Dr. Zero has completed his revenge on Prince Tail, imprisons Princess Darcy, and controls everything on Porombo Island. Cody is the only one that's able to stop him at all.

Vinnie wasn't killed when he got too close to a building tagged for demolition, he just suffered a crippling injury and had to take a sabbatical.

Knives wasn't blown up due to Riggs' clumsiness, he just got sent to another dimension.

Riggs didn't commit suicide by grenade after Cody defeated Circe, he just retired from the company. OK, this one was right.

Nintendo Hard: Knowing how to beat the system is the key to success; most of the difficulty comes from the fact that enemies can be surprisingly strong in dungeons and the fact that the bosses can be obscenely difficult if you don't come prepared.

No Celebrities Were Harmed: The entire Macroworld/Waffle section of Ring and Cross is chock-full of this. Mr. Waffle is a washed-up computer maker, who was put out of business when a fire consumed his headquarters, Waffle Tower, twenty years ago. Now, his rival Mr. Gait has taken over the market with Macrosoft computers. Things get nasty when you learn that he sabotaged Waffle in order to facilitate his little takeover....

Also note that Gait uses Robopon called X-Dog and I-80. Neither of them are terribly good.

Older Than They Look: When Rena leaves behind her adoptive parents in the second game, she also leaves behind a sphere that makes them young and healthy again while allowing them to retain their memories. While her father becomes something akin to a cute boy, her mother becomes very, very pretty.

Olympus Mons: Golden Sunny, Silver C-Cell, Draco, Fencer, and Scar in the first game. The second game has Nebulus, who can only be obtained by Link Sparking.

One Game for the Price of Two: Much like how Pokémon uses its two versions to limit which mons can be found in which games, Robopon uses its two versions as a way of making sparking every Robopon much more difficult, especially in the second game; certain Robopon can only be created by "Link Sparking" with another person, and certain battery combinations may make different Robopon in different games (Ion+Moon in Ring version creates Sunny, while the same combination in Cross creates Sun-Zero).

Peninsula of Power Leveling: In the first game, the key to grinding is finding an area that gives away more experience points than the norm, and staying there for a while. In particular, the waves in front of Vanza Village can carry you for at least a dozen levels early on, and the well in Cools Town is also useful.

Pet the Dog: At the beginning of Robopon 2, Dr. Zeke finds Cody washed up on the beach and saves him, taking him to his house until he wakes up. Unlike his brother in the previous game and his father, he seems to be an Affably Evil kinda guy.

Plot Coupon: The X-Stones of the second game. Each one is required to challenge a ranked competitor, and people will go to obscene lengths to hide them and keep their rankings.

Powers as Programs: Skills are equipped to Robopon via "software", though most Robopon learn at least one skill on their own. Moreover, by combining specific types of software together, you can teach Robopon new techniques. However, Boot-type Robopon cannot learn techniques from software.

Prison Episode: The second game has Cody imprisoned and working to escape before he's executed.

Random Effect Spell: Finding teddy bears causes the fairy inside them to bestow a random effect on you that occurs at certain hours for the rest of the game. It can be helpful or harmful, but luckily you can choose when to place them after receiving it.

Sick and Wrong: At the end of the second game, the king declares that having rank holders is sick and wrong, given all the trouble they caused.

Side Quest: A couple in the first game. There's the Brownie quest with Sam, accessible only at 5 o'clock, rescuing Princess Darcy with the Teardrop of Morris, found by fighting Hunter on Cherry Hill, and the Underwater Creature you give Dream Shells to in order to unlock the Underwater Health Spa.

The Smurfette Principle: In the first game, Miss Amron is the only confirmed female Legend out of seven, as Kamat may or may not be a girl.

Averted with the Elite 8, though. ALL of its members are girls.

So Last Season: Legend1 rankings don't mean much in Majiko; the tournament there is for Legend1s exclusively.

Sorting Algorithm of Evil: In the first game. Going from a schoolyard bully and his gang to a brainwashing TV idol, then to an actual gang terrorizing a town, then to a would-be-dictator. Averted with Dr. Disc and Prince Tail, neither of whom are evil, but played straight with Dr. Zero, Mad Scientist and the final boss of the game.

Stable Time Loop: Of a sort. Cody is the one that saves Majiko and the world from Dr. Zero, Sr., in the second game, about twenty years before the events of the first. The younger versions of Zero Sr.'s children, Zero and Zeke, are present to see their father (and the older Zero Jr.) defeated. Dr. Zero Jr., then became an evil scientist to live up to his family name, which in turn is responsible for bringing him into conflict with Cody in the first game. When the end of the second game comes along, Cody fights and defeats Dr. Zero Jr., followed by Dr. Zero Sr. shortly afterwards, with the young Zero and Zeke present. See the pattern?

Standard Status Effects: Played straight, but with a nice thematic twist; the names of the statuses match the kinds of conditions you would expect a robot to suffer from, e.g., Fog = Blind, Crash = Paralysis, Suspend = Sleep, Rust = Poison, and Virus = Confusion. While they are normally as accurate as status effect spells are in other RPGs, Virus is basically the best way of turning any ranked fight into a rout; most Robopon are surprisingly susceptible to it.

Starter Mon: Sunny in the "light" versions and C-Cell in the "dark" versions. Surprisingly, neither is too hard to come by in their home games, but they are strong and the mascots of the franchise.

Stuff Blowing Up: Oh God, Robopon 2. Almost everything blows up. Machines, people, floating fortresses, buildings, doors, even an entire town. The story has a total of 36 explosions, not counting battles.

Stupidity Is the Only Option: In the finale of 2, you have to listen in on the Zeros' conversation. They know you're there, and drag you off to the Robopon Graveyard for the final battle.

Trippy Finale Syndrome: In the second game, the final battle takes place in the Robopon Graveyard, which is in an unknown location. If Dr. Zero, Sr. is to be believed, it's the place where the souls of scrapped Robopon go. And the graveyard is completely filled.

Under the Sea: In the first game, if you have any fishlike Robopon. It also has one of the best tunes in the game.

Vendor Trash: Crysty, a Robopon found within the Shielder Tower in Apollo Fortress. It's only found during the evenings, but when it's out, it's surprisingly easy to come by. Its body is made of solid crystal, and while most Robopon sell for about 50-100 G per level, Crysty sells for 250 G a level. The ones you find are between levels 23-27, meaning they go for around 6000 G a pop.

Video Game Lives: The second of Zero's cyborgs lampshades this, claiming the doctor gave him two lives, so he could continue to hunt down Cody.

Villain Has a Point: Dr. Zero is right when he says that Tail's father won the throne by cheating; he had defeated the King, but was attacked and left for dead, leaving the royal family to claim the title.

Villain with Good Publicity: Played with in the first game. Miss Amron, the Legend6 and a TV idol, uses TV to hypnotize her viewers into loving her. When the broadcast ceases, however, she becomes unpopular.

We Can Rebuild Him: Dr. Zero did this to himself. After defeating Prince Tail's father, the King attacked him and left him for dead. Zero repaired his original body with cybernetics.

The Woman Behind the Man: Circe apparently kicked the crap out of Knives in a Robopon battle at some point after he got his title as Master, rendering him mute and giving her the title.

Wonder Child: Rena the alien girl in 2, who gets taken in by an old couple who regard her as the daughter they'd always wanted to have. In the end, she gives them back their youth as thanks for looking after her.

Written by the Winners: Dr. Zero calls out Tail for this; the King was defeated by Zero and only 'won' due to nearly killing him, but told everyone that he defeated Zero to begin with.

Yakuza: Riggs Construction Company. Their formula is as follows—find people, tell them to pony up for protection, blow up the houses of the people that don't pay. Rinse and repeat.

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